Sly Cooper and the Miraculous Stones
by Crysee
Summary: Isn't it ironic that the fate of the world rests in a theif's hands? Sly Cooper discovered magical gems, that helped build Clockwerk. It's up to him and Chiira, a little tiger cub, to distroy them.


Sly Cooper and the Miraculous Stones

By: Crysee, S.H.

Chapter 1: The Cub

Darkness engulfed the land of Africa. The murky river of the Amazon filled a small swamp filled with muddy water. Small stars were scattered in the sky as though The Creator threw them into the air carelessly. Not a cloud hid any of the stars, (or the rounded moon,) from any part of wide Africa. The light off the moon centered its beams to a small colony in a jungle next to the Amazon River known as Pure-Ra.

The whole country of Africa rested under the blanket of stars, while only the colony of Pure-Ra was wide awake. Silently in the night, the creatures of Pure-Ra prowled, their eyes reflecting the light of the moon. The hypnotizing sound of drums beating could put any other creature, other than a feline, to sleep instantly. The smell of grinded Yokie, a plant that only grew only in the Pure-Ra's land, added to this effect. The protection of the colony of Pure-Ra was surprisingly unstoppable, even to the sneakiest thief… or so they thought.

Chiira, a little tiger cub of about six years old, was awakening by the light of the moon. Her striped black ears flicked as her father's hind paws padded towards the small Chiira.

The father's gentle hand rubbed Chiira's back, and she purred contently. The father slowly removed the little cub's blanket, placing it on the hut's grassy floor. He slowly tucked his paws under Chiira's body, pulling her up gently.

"My little Cub… Awaken and feel the warmth of the moon." Saying this was a custom of Pure-Ra's creatures. It was a polite way to awaken one of their members that the user cared about dearly. Little Chiira's eyes blinked open, looking at her father with a pleased heart.

"Daddy…" She mumbled, lifting her paws to the shadow of her Father's figure groggily. A small chuckle was made from her father as he pulled her close, gently running his hand over Chiira's brown hair. They both purred in the darkness, until a light of a torch filled the room.

"Martec," a voice of the one of the older tribe leaders filled the room. "You have to get ready. Talon is already preparing the first meal fire. Chiira is already late to get dressed with the other cub girls. Hurry, we can't start the ceremony without you." Chiira always feared the tribe leaders, especially the elder ones. She watched the tribe leader with fright, grasping her father's crocodile skin coat tight. The flickering of the Tribe Leader's torch disappeared behind the cloth they used for a door of their hut.

Martec, the father, stood up, still holding Chiira in his arms. He cradled his little cub, still moving his paw gracefully over Chiira's brown hair. Chiira always wished for her father to hold her forever, but that dream would never come true. Father was important to the colony of Pure-Ra, being Talon's cousin and all.

"Chiira, my cub, are you ready for another night?" Her father purred to Chiira, nuzzling Chiira's forehead. "You have to work hard tonight, for Talon thinks you are slacking off. You have to prove to him you are really related to him." Chiira scowled. She was doing all she could; yet it wasn't good enough for Talon. She was tiny and it was hard to keep up with the other girls. Chiira nodded her head, agreeing to her father's statement.

Once Chiira and Martec were outside, Martec placed Chiira down. The little cub hugged her father's muscle filled leg, and Martec chuckled. He placed a hand on Chiira's head, stroking her hair once more.

"Daddy has to go now," Stated Martec, using third person for his little cub. Chiira whimpered louder and held on tighter. Martec brushed a strand of nutmeg hair out of Chiira's dark, earthy orange eyes and tucked it behind one cat ear. "Now, now…" The cub's father pried her little paws off his leg effortlessly and gently. "Daddy will see you before the ceremony, and you can sit on his lap throughout it, okay?" Martec was lying, for he knew that Talon would never let his cub sit in his lap during a ceremony. He would have little Chiira sit at his feet or with the other girls.

A tiger female gracefully approached Martec, smiling. She placed her hand on Martec's shoulder, looking down at Chiira.

"Martec? It's time for Chiira to change. She's already late." Said the female. The cub's father smiled and nodded. He placed a hand on Chiira's head, reassuring her without words.

"That would be lovely, Kherri." The female smiled, looking back up to Martec.

"We will be fast." She replied, offering a paw to little Chiira. The cub inspected the paw for some time before grasping one Kherri's fingers.

"Now be good, Chiira, to Aunt Kherri." Warned Martec as he took his paw off of Chiira's head, smiling down to his cub. He watched the two walk to the changing hut, waving slightly.

"Martec," An aggressive voice summoned him from behind. It was easy to tell it belonged to Talon. "We need to talk."

The inside of the hut was decorated with cooking mats and pots and pans. Surprisingly, this was a changing room, not a kitchen. The other girl cubs were already changed into their work clothes: A skirt that was tied with a piece of cloth and a heavy thick material used in the shirt. The girls sneered at Chiira, knowing that she was the smallest and most skittish of the group.

Chiira slowly took off her sleeping gown, replacing it with the shirt and skirt.

"Chii… Ra…" The taunting voices of the other girls danced around in Chiira's head. Chiira tried to block them out. "Come 'ere, sissy." One of the voices cackled, and Chiira whimpered. "Oh… Lookit the baby cry…" The same voice began mimicking Chiira, but with more emotion. "Himm… Himmm… Waaaaah!" She laughed again, when another voice interrupted her.

"Shush, Kia! Don't talk with a bad tongue around Talon's cousin's daughter. Talon could slice off your head in an instant." Kia shut her mouth, visualizing her head on a plate.

Chiira turned around to face a group of girls who were looking at each other nervously… Except for one who was smiling slightly. Chiira knew that the second voice belonged to that girl who was smiling. Her name was Hanna. It wasn't a common name in this area. And Hanna was the only bobcat in the tribe of Pure-Ra, so she definitely stood out.

Kherri came back into the hut, calling to the girls.

"Come, cubs. Lets get to work."

The cub girls lined up immediately before Kherri. Chiira and Hanna were at the back, whispering to each other contently. Everyone was led out of the room, except for Chiira and Hanna, who was stopped by Kherri. She handed them both a bucket, saying in a low voice,

"Girls, I need you to go down to the lake and fetch some water for the festival. Hurry, or else Talon will have a cow." They nodded and rushed out the door.

There wasn't a word discussed between little Chiira and Hanna on the way to the pond. The girls simply looked at their feet on the murky path to the lake. Once Hanna spotted the water, she ran into the water, walking until she was knee deep. She came out, holding a bucket full on clean water in the air to Chiira.

"C'mon, Chiira!" Called Hanna. "Talon is waiting!"

But, Chiira didn't move. She was staring at her feet, transfixed. Hanna called to her again, but she got the same reaction.

Finally, Hanna walked over to Chiira, following her gaze to her feet. Hanna also became silent, watching not Chiira's feet… But a stone in the muddy ground.

This stone was smooth, soft, and somehow… _shimmering_. A yellow spark danced in the stone, which made each of their eyes widen. Finally, Chiira reached down and grasped the stone. Chiira watched the spark continue to dance in the ebony stone, making warmth flow from the stone into her palm. They watched and watched the stone, loosing track of time.

"HANNA! CHIIRA!" The voice of Talon made the Earth rumble. Hanna and Chiira looked at each other in fear, grabbed their buckets, and ran.

It wasn't until they got back that Chiira noticed that she didn't fill her bucket at all. She was probably going to get slaughtered by Talon, with her father watching. Talon scared her more than anything, so she might actually wet her skirt.

"CHIIRA! HANNA!" Talon made Chiira want to hide in fear. She and Hanna clung together, looking at Talon with big eyes.

Talon was about twice as big as Chiira's father. He looked twice as strong also. Talon had an owl claw, also known as a talon, on a rope dangling from his neck. Talon was a hybrid of a cheetah and a leopard, giving him the strength of two big cats. His spotted tail twitched in an irritated fashion, looking at the two girls.

Hanna dropped to her knees, looking at the ground, showing the bucket of water to Talon like an offering. Talon only glared down to the bucket, hitting it out of Hanna's hands in fury. It flew out of her palms, landing into a patch of sand, upside down,

"Take her to her hut… Now. She'll not be having meals for some time." Before Hanna could react, she got picked up by two jet-black jaguars and got carried off. Chiira was so surprised she couldn't react.

"As for you…" Talon's piercing red eyes slowly fell upon Chiira. A chill of embarrassment ran down Chiira's spine. Not only Talon's eyes were on her, but all the tribes'. Talon quickly noticed that her bucket was empty, so, furious, he spat, "You will get what you deserve…" Talon grasped her shirt, pulling her in the air.

Gasps of fear and excitement came from the Pure-Raians. They were amazed by Talon's strength, but only Martec seemed concerned about Chiira's safety. Her father's scream bounced off Talon, who continues to stare at Chiira's frightened face. A small sneer curved his lips. "You ran off before a tribe gathering. And you didn't bring anything of my advantage back, lot like Hanna. You _will_ be punished." He lifted his razor retractable claws in the air, for it was easy to see that he was aiming for Chiira's neck.

One of Chiira's paws was stuffed in her pocket, fingering the smooth stone. For some reason, she felt like the rock was glued to her paw. She couldn't let go. She kept it in her pocket all the way back, touching it with her paw.

Suddenly, a wave of power surged through her arm. It pounded in the same beat of her heartbeat. And soon, her whole body felt stronger, faster, and actually confident.

Before Talon's claws even got in range of her neck, she did something she would have never dreamed she could do. With an outstretched paw, she grasped Talon's wrist. She dug her nails into his wrist, as if it was instinct. He cried out in pain, and immediately dropped Chiira. It wasn't Chiira's puny claws that made Talon scream, oh no, it looked like something had just burned his wrist. He ran and tried to get some of the leftover water from Hanna's pail onto his wound. Chiira knew it wasn't her work that burned the leader's wrist… it was the _stone's_.

Talon's red eyes looked over little Chiira once more. He bared his teeth and ran towards her, picking her up like a flea. "Do you think this is funny!" He spat, even though Chiira was already too afraid to even let out a little giggle. He raised the cub higher into the air, so she was right before Talon's nose. His hateful eyes glared into her frightened ones. A few seconds of silence passed, and Talon's nose twitched. He closed his eyes, and began to inhale from his nose.

"Where is it?" He said softly to Chiira, who was shaking. After no reply, Talon barked, "WHERE IS IT, GIRL!" Chiira knew he was searching for the stone. Chiira remained silent. Talon dropped Chiira, and the crowd around them gasped. A little six-year-old cub fell from Talon's grip onto the hard ground. He grabbed Chiira's tail, so he knew she wouldn't run off. "Listen, you little brat," Spat the Hybrid, "Give me the stone, and I'll let you live longer." Chiira knew that Talon would kill her on the spot, so slowly, she revealed her other hand from her pocket, which clenched the stone. She dropped the stone on the ground, and her warmth was gone.

Talon grabbed the stone and examined it, still holding onto Chiira. After looking it over completely more than twice, he placed it in his pocket. Again, he returned his attention to Chiira. "Little Cub…" He sneered. "If anything comes up again, you come straight to me. Not to anyone else. Are we clear?" Chiira didn't answer, so Talon shook the little cub. "Are we clear!" He said more forcefully.

"Yes." Chiira whispered.

"Good." Replied the leader, who let go of Chiira's tail. "Take her to her hut. Make sure she doesn't get fed for a few days." Talon turned his back on the little six-year-old, who got picked up and carried away to her hut. "Shall we continue?" Talon looked at the crowd, who were still excited about Chiira's little rumble with Talon. "Now, as I was saying,…"

Martec was disgusted with Talon. He almost killed his own blood and flesh. Martec knew better to move from his chair, so he sat, watching his cousin. Martec bared his fangs to him, thinking about how he scared little Chiira. First she would need some T-L-C, then Martec would discipline her for running off.

The tribe of Pure-Ra held a secret… And a secret that was held from the cubs. Yet, each cub worked in the secret's purpose… Money, or so most of the adults thought. Talon was the leader of this tribe, so the master of the secret… This secret is unbreakable, but if not found out by the world, it could lead to mass destruction. But, there is only one animal that could bring the Pure-Ra clan to justice… And that animal is Sly Cooper.


End file.
